Midland native survives reality TV show premiere

Published 9:30 am, Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Though she managed to stay out of the spotlight and in the game, some local viewers of last week's "Survivor: One World" premiere may have recognized a familiar face.

Kimberly Spradlin, 29, formerly of Midland, is competing against other castaways for $1 million on the primetime reality television show known for challenging its contestants' endurance, problem-solving skills and willpower. The show airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on KOSA.

"I've always been a huge fan of 'Survivor,'" Spradlin said in a phone interview of her decision to go on the show. "I've never missed an episode. I've always said, 'If I go on that, I could win that.'"

On this season -- the show's 24th installment -- men and women are pitted against each other in two tribes that will have to compete for and share resources on the same beach. The season was filmed in Samoa in summer 2011.

Spradlin grew up in Midland and attended Midland Christian School until moving to Navasota when she was 14. Spradlin's father, Mike, coached the Mustangs football team to a 9-3 record and the state semifinals in 1996.

Spradlin is the owner of Bella Bridesmaid shops in Austin and San Antonio, where she currently resides. Her decision to open the shop with best friend Cayce Harris three years ago surprised many who knew her as the girl who frequented the Midland United Girls Softball fields and grew up in a family that was competitive by nature.

"I'd been in so many weddings and had so many terrible bridesmaid dresses," Spradlin said, laughing. "I'm really outdoorsy and tomboyish; I think it really surprised a lot of people."

The Midland native received news she made it on the show about a week before she left for the six-month process, and many friends assumed she had taken an extended vacation. Her time on the show pushed her to be physically and mentally tough.

"There's something very 'Lord of the Flies' about it," she said. "They put you in these terrible conditions and see what happens. We all know that feeling when you're really hungry and really grumpy; it's like that on crack."

Spradlin said her strategy was to not pigeon-hole herself into any one particular plan, but to remain flexible throughout the entire game. That helped her to adapt when it was announced the tribes would be divided by gender.

"I wanted to go in and be ready for anything, on the balls of my feet," she said. "I think the main thing I learned coming back is that in any given situation you can either let your environment change you and shape you, or you can be a powerful presence and change and shape your environment."